1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a connector device that has a terminal assembly, which holds a plurality of terminals in an insulator, and a connector housing, which houses the terminal assembly and from which the terminals extend outwardly. The present invention also relates to a manufacturing method of such a connector device. The present invention further relates to a wiper drive motor having such a connector device.
2. Description of Related Art
In the connector device recited in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. H09-9562, a plurality of plate-shaped first terminals is disposed in a first plane, and a plurality of plate-shaped second terminals is disposed in a separate second plane. The first terminals and second terminals are in separate layers, which are stacked one after the other. The first terminals are manufactured as an integral assembly such that adjacent ones of the first terminals are connected to each other through a corresponding connecting portion. During assembly, the integrally formed first terminals are separated from each other by cutting the connecting portions, thereby forming individual terminals, which are then assembled. The second terminals are likewise manufactured as an integral assembly such that adjacent ones of the second terminals are connected to each other through a corresponding connecting portion. During assembly, the integrally formed second terminals are separated from each other by cutting the connecting portions, thereby forming individual terminals, which are then assembled. The connecting portions are cut using a press machine or the like.
When each connecting portion, which connects between the adjacent terminals, is cut, the cut ends of each connecting portion formed by cutting are bent and are spaced from each other. However, when the connecting portion is simply cut, the cut ends may be insufficiently bent. When these terminals are then assembled, the adjacent cut ends of the connecting portion can be too close to each other or even touch each other. Electrical insulation failure can occur when the cut ends of the connecting portion are too close to each other or touch each other.